Fall, Potato Soup, 36 weeks, and Capes

It's Fall here in Kentucky. A glorious time of year! I love the brisk morning air and the afternoon sunshine. We played baseball in the yard this afternoon, along with our two "boy" friends that came to play. Then we made obstacle courses and cheered each other on!

I made homemade potato soup for dinner - I love this new recipe that I found!
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Hearty-Garlic-Potato-Soup/Detail.aspx
In fact, we all love it. The kids chow it down like it's their first meal in weeks!

Tomorrow I am 36 weeks pregnant and feeling every bit of it. I'm tired. My ankles are swollen. My back aches. And my top ribs have been asleep for weeks now. My body is ready for this baby. My mind knows a bit of what's to come and I am a tad hesitant. I sure enjoy sleeping all night long right now. But, I know the minute I see her sweet eyes it won't matter that I only get 4 hours of sleep each night.

Nate is a fabulous sleeper. He never wakes up at night anymore. Last night I heard his mobile running and got up to find a wide-eyed Nate sitting in his crib. Just hanging out! I swooped him up and brought him to sleep "in the middle". He layed there, completely still, for an hour. I layed awake next to him. I soaked him in, he soaked me in. I adore this child of mine.

Mackenzie will be Superman for Halloween! Ha! I bought a superman costume at a garage sale a few years ago for a quarter and she plays dress up with it. The only problem is it didn't come with a cape. So, in order to be Superman - I just HAD to sew her a cape! We did this project tonight. It only took an hour - I was surprised! She LOVES it and it instantly changed the entire costume. She'll be flying down main street tomorrow night collecting her loot.

Life is good. Hope yours is too.

and so it begins...

I made pancakes for supper. I love pancakes for supper! Mackenzie told me this evening that when we have pancakes for supper it confuses her and she doesn't know if it's morning or night. This triggered a fun game between the two of us - "is it morning? is it night?". Nate smeared syrup all in his hair - I laughed because it was so cute. (and because we always bathe them after supper!) Ryan was teaching drum lessons so wasn't home to experience all this fun.

ANYWAY...I finally get the kids in the tub and decide it's definetly a bubblebath night; much to their excitement! They play really well together in the tub, especially with the bubbles. So I decided to take advantage of it and scrub the bathroom. (I HATE this task, so when the mood strikes me I must jump on board!)

Before I know it I realize that I am on my hands and knees scrubbing the baseboards. How did that happen?! With every pregnancy I become a baseboard fanatic. It's as if we cannot bring a child home to this house unless the baseboards are sparkling! With M I even went as far as repainting all the baseboards white. Weird! So I chuckled when I realized what was going on. It may just be the front bathroom baseboards...but it means a lot. It means we're nearing the end here people!

I still have a lot of baseboards to go though...

It's a sunny day! Want to play?!

"It takes years to make a friend you've had for years." -- A line on one of my friend's blogs that I read this week. Isn't that so true? I'm an impatient person. (There might be a few of you out there that don't know this about me) So, when I'm in a situation that requires patience - it's a challenge. I want friendships - deep-rooted, soul-satisfying, love-my-kids kind of friendships. They are hard to come by and take hard work too. Each day I find myself missing my family - the people that know me like no others. I miss them because I want to share my life with them. Not just who I am...but my everyday, want to go to Wal-mart with me, life. Each day I find myself missing my friendships - those friendships that have taken years to make. Sure, there are friends all around me. And I am HUGELY thankful for those friendly faces. They make my day. But I'm longing today for a soul conversation. Maybe a walk through Wilmore with my stroller and big belly, struggling to get up over the hill kind of walk. I'm missing those friends that would help push me up over the hill.
This blog may seem a bit pouty. But, it's not meant to be. It's just a simple reminder to me...that it takes years to make a friend you've had for years.

Kid Updates

Mackenzie is excited about life. In most things we do (minus all chores) she finds a simple pleasure and satisfaction about "doing". If it involves using her hands or phsyically going somewhere..she's ready! Last week her Kindergarten teacher came to the house for our "home visit". Her teacher had nothing bad to say at all - spoke very highly of our girl! Her teacher, Mrs. A, said that M is always very helpful and kind. I'm not surprised - but glad to know she behaves the same way at school that she does at home. Mrs. A also reported that Mackenzie is in her highest reading group. M is taking off in this area! Reading up a storm and loving it! Here is a picture of Mackenzie...she made brownies for Mrs. A the day she came to our house! As you can see, she's excited about this too!

She's also just about the cutest little soccer star I've seen. Here's an "active" shot of her. She loves soccer and gets to have a good time running around!

Nathan is a dinosaur most days. His imagination is flourishing! He turns most everything into a car. I found him the other day moving his PB&J sandwhich along his plate and making the vroom noise. This boy of our's cannot sit still. He is so active, which makes each day fun! He is talking up a storm, even if most words he says are not audible to the average ear, Ryan and I know what he is saying! He plays so hard that each day he giggles with glee for naptime and bedtime! His hair has the slightest curl to it - it is adorable! His latest joy is to play in the bathroom sink. I add a little soap and his hands get clean too. ;) He'll play in there forever - just loving moving the duckies around and quacking!

Nate's newest trick to seeing on top of the counters. He always finds a way to get to where he needs to be!

Baby Girl is also doing well. (This is not the greatest pic of me, it was late and I was tired! But, you get the idea.) We heard her fabulous heartbeat yesterday - a strong 150 bpm. She is growing right on schedule with no problems! Praise the Lord for another healthy pregnancy. My due date is still the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 28th. Maybe she'll be a week early like her brother. A pregnant mother can only hope. ;) Mackenzie said the sweetest prayer the other night, "Jesus, please help the weeks to go by faster so the baby can get here." Well put, Mackenzie! Here's a picture of me from two weeks ago - 31 weeks.

Frustration? Nah...Celebration!!

Ryan and I spent a good chunk of yesterday afternoon rearranging our son's room. His room also holds a double bed...so that our guests have somewhere to lay their heads when they visit. I was hoping to create a bit more play space for him and be able to get to his windows. (He loves to watch outside) We rearranged and then sat and stared at the mess we created; coming up with no solution! We eventually put everything back in the same place it's been in for the past two years. I guess we put it that way to begin with for a reason - it's the only way it fits!!
Mackenzie's room is in the same shape - not any room left in there for anything. Thus, we will have to remove some furniture in order to put a crib in her room for the new girl.

This leads me to my frustration...

With both of my previous babies, Ryan and I were able to create a lovely little nursery for our coming child. We had it all set up and ready for them. Clothes in the dresser, crib made, bassinet made, you get the picture. With this child it looks like we will put a crib in M's room, a dresser squeezed in the hallway, the changing table will stay in N's room, and the bassinet in our room! There is no central location for her. I have 8 weeks until my due date and I'm still trying to figure out where to gather things for her! (People who have had more than two kids are probably laughing at me, but I'm still trying to figure this thing out!!)

I thought I was okay with waiting to do most things until after she arrived. Afterall, I know that newborns don't need a whole lot of space. But, it turns out, I'd like to have the chance to prepare for her. :)

So, last night I was left with my frustrations and no solutions. Frustrated that it felt like we are trying to squeeze her in to our family. Frustrated that I can't seem to find any space for her. This was getting me nowhere, so I decided this morning to take a different slant. It's not that we're squeezing her in...it's that we all want a piece of her! There are four of us here waiting for her - four people wanting to kiss, hold, love, and take care of her! How lucky is she! She'll arrive into this world and be used to waiting in line. She'll get to spend time with her brother and sister because it will just be the way it is! No more space in the Inn. No more space for a frilly pink nursery, smelling of Drift. She'll be dragged to her sister's Soccer games and Ballet practice. She'll probably be smacked on the head by her adoring brother. But, she'll be loved!

Whether we prepare our house for her or not...she'll be here in 8 weeks. I hope she'll like it here!

Life on Tuesday

I'm sitting here on the couch by Nate. He's such a funny boy. He's pushed all the cushions off (except the one I'm sitting on). This is something that is done multiple times a day...it never gets old! He's running from end to end and crashing into me - tickling my growing belly and laughing. Oh, sweet days! Mackenzie is off on the bus on her way to Kindergarten. She asked me to drive her again today. (I did yesterday) The novelty of the bus has worn off and it now takes entirely way too long for my impatient daughter to have to sit on the bus to go to school. She'd rather the instant gratification and comfort of mom's van. It's going to be a long 13 more years of riding the bus, Mackenzie. ;)
After I put M on the bus, Nate and I have some time as just the two of us. What a treasure it is. We get to eat lunch together before he collapses for his nap. These days are numbered. In just 10 short weeks, he'll have to share most of his time with his new baby sister. It will be wonderful, I know. He's going to love having another pal around. But, in the meantime, I'll try to bottle these moments with my son.

My Guy

Ryan turned 30 this week...this is a pic of us on our way out the door for our Date Night! We shared a wonderful dinner - without the kids - and enjoyed each other's company. What a treat! I met Ryan right before his 18th birthday. I've seen many sides of this man...watched him grow from a long haired, retainer-wearing teenager....to a love-struck 21 yr old when we got married....to a cautious, adoring 25 yr old first-time father....to a confident, loving 30 yr old. God has blessed Ryan. God has blessed me. I really enjoy this guy.

Giuseppe's Italian - yum.

We even spent some time playing cards and drinking Hot Apple Cider at Starbucks.

The family birthday party. The kids LOVED this and Ryan enjoyed his cake! Sadly, we only had pink candles in the cupboard...and definetly NOT 30 of them.

The boy still takes his food seriously. Enjoying every bite!